Bhupinder Singh Gill Becomes First Indian-Origin And Punjabi Sikh To Officiate In Premier League Fixture

"Hopefully, this is another moment to help inspire the next generation," Bhupinder said.

Bhupinder Singh Gill lines up to become the Premier League's first Sikh-Punjabi assistant referee ahead of the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, southern England on January 4, 2023.

Source : Glyn KIRK / AFP

Bhupinder Singh Gill became the first Indian-origin and Punjabi Sikh to officiate in a Premier League fixture. He achieved this distinction during Wednesday's English Premier League match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest. Marc Perry was the other assistant referee for the match at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton with Thomas Bramall being the main referee for the game.

It is worth highlighting that Bhupinder's father, Jarnail Singh Gill, was also an official and acted as a fourth referee in the Premier League matches in the first decade of the 21st century. He was also one of the referees when India's Bhaichung Bhutia played in the English Football League for Bury FC.

"This has to be the proudest and most exciting moment in my refereeing journey, but I’m not getting carried away as it is just another step in the direction to where I want to get to," Bhupinder told English media before the game.

First Sikh-Punjabi to serve as an assistant referee at a Premier League match ❤️

Congratulations, @BhupsGill_ARef 👏 pic.twitter.com/bxD13QaRFU

— Premier League India (@PLforIndia) January 5, 2023

"Hopefully, this is another moment to help inspire the next generation to sign up to a refereeing course and get into officiating.

"My dream has always been to reach the top of the game, be a role model for future officials and encourage more people from diverse backgrounds into officiating, especially from a South Asian background just like me," he added.

Nottingham Forest Beat Southampton 1-0

Talking about the match that marked Bhupinder Singh Gill's first game as an assistant referee in the English Premier League, it was Nottingham Forest who registered a win over Southampton 1-0 in this match. Taiwo Awoniyi netted the only goal of the match in the 27th minute which proved to the difference between the sides.

While Southampton find themselves fighting for relegation and are at the 20th place on the table with 12 points from 18 matches, Nottingham Forest are at the 15th place with 17 points.